Clinic

Announcements

Speech and Hearing Clinic
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
College of Health Sciences
West Chester University
201 Carter Drive, Suite 400
West Chester, PA 19383

Clinic Secretary:

Brandes Winters
610-436-3402

Fax:

610-436-3388

Clinic Director:

Jennifer Walsh Means, SLP.D. CCC-SLP
610-436-3447

Clinical Services

Speech, Language and Hearing Treatment Services

Therapy services are available for children and adults who are diagnosed with speech, language or hearing disorders. The Clinic strives to provide superior professional diagnostic and treatment services in speech-language pathology and audiology while providing excellence in clinical education for students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Students are supervised by speech-language pathologists and audiologists, all holding professional certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensure from the state of Pennsylvania. Clinical Supervisors utilize state-of-the-art video technology to observe students during clinical sessions. Therapy sessions are offered once or twice a week during the fall and spring semesters. Summer programs are offered throughout the day during the month of July.

Speech, Language and Hearing Diagnostic Services

The Clinic offers full diagnostic evaluations for children and adults who are suspected of having speech, language or hearing disorders. The diagnostic team has access to the latest equipment, technologies and assessment tools to provide the most comprehensive evaluations. Student clinicians have access to the latest technology to perform advanced diagnostic procedures that can directly assess middle and inner ear function and hearing loss. Evaluation sessions are offered for one hour or two hour sessions, depending on the individual client's needs.

Clinic History

Professor S. Elizabeth Tyson, a pioneer in the field of speech therapy, started the Speech Clinic at what was then known as West Chester State College in September, 1923. The Clinic has been in continuous operation ever since. While a number of colleges and universities provided courses in "speech correction" in the early part of the century, very few offered clinical services until the 1930s. Nationally, the University of Wisconsin Clinic opened in 1916. The University of Iowa Clinic started in the fall of 1923, concurrent with the start of the West Chester Clinic. In Pennsylvania, Penn State University and Temple University, which pioneered academic programs in "speech correction," offered summer courses in this subject in 1923, but neither university had a Clinic at that time. The Penn State University Clinic dates from 1933. Because of that, it is likely that the oldest university clinic in the state is the West Chester Clinic. It is also likely that the West Chester Clinic is among the oldest university clinics in the nation. West Chester was unique in that the Clinic was opened before the school offered courses in "speech correction."

By 1927, Tyson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, started to teach a "speech correction" course. By 1932, this course was a requirement for the four-year Kindergarten teaching curriculum, as well as for the four-year Primary teaching curriculum. The Speech Clinic was, as described in university documents, "organized to care for cases of defective speech within the College and vicinity." The Speech Clinic was operated in conjunction with the course from Tyson, and it provided services to children from the community of West Chester.

The present clinic continued to build upon the legacy of Professor S. Elizabeth Tyson. It has extended its scope of service to persons of all ages with disorders of speech, language, and/or hearing. The clinic serves pediatric through geriatric clients/patients, with special attention to the needs of West Chester University students, faculty members, and staff members.

Referrals

The Clinic accepts referrals from community agencies, former clients and their families and friends, physicians and other health-care professionals, private industry, and public schools, as well as self-referrals.

Appointments and Fees

The clinic offers low-cost services for therapy and evaluation. A sliding scale and fee waivers are available and based on income and extenuating circumstances. Fees for Speech-Language evaluation and intervention services are waived for students at Cheyney University, students at West Chester University, active and retired faculty and staff members, and Pennsylvania residents who are 70 years old or older. Fees are reduced by fifty percent for immediate family members of active and retired faculty and staff members at West Chester University. Appointments may be made by calling the clinic secretary at 610-436-3402.

Location

The Speech and Hearing Clinic is located at 201 Carter Drive, Suite 400 in the Matlack Industrial Park. Driving Directions:

From North of West Chester: Take Route 202 South and take the Matlack Street exit (turning right onto Matlack Street). Follow for approximately ¼ mile and turn right onto Carter Drive to enter the Matlack Industrial Park. Make the first left into the Parking lot for the 400 Suite building.

From South of West Chester: Take Route 202 North and take the Matlack Street exit (turning left onto Matlack Street). Follow for approximately ¼ mile and turn right onto Carter Drive to enter the Matlack Industrial Park. Make the first left into the Parking lot for the 400 Suite building.